DictionaryRoot: -io
Latin

-io

an action, process, or result

Forms

  • -io
  • -ion- — The longer form used before Latin endings.
  • -ion — The form carried into many English nouns.

Origin

An old Latin noun ending, inherited from earlier Indo-European word formation.

Note

The ending can name both an activity and what that activity produces.

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noun

aversion

uh-VUR-zhun/əˈvɜːrʒn/

A strong dislike of or reluctance toward something.

The man recoils from the offered olives with unmistakable aversion.

A white adult man recoils in strong dislike from a bowl of olives offered across a table.
Etymology

Aversion names a “turning away.” Its earlier literal sense became a mental turning away from something repugnant or unwelcome, giving the current meaning of strong dislike or unwillingness.

In context

misesmedia39:18
the widest range of future contingencies. The investment in cash balances is an investment contra the subjectively felt aversion to uncertainty. A larger cash balance brings more relief from uncertainty aversion.
Panel: The Significance of Hans-Hermann Hoppe

More examples

  • He developed an aversion to the smell after becoming ill.
  • The survey asks about food preferences and aversions.
  • Their aversion to risk shaped the investment decision.

Forms

aversion · aversions

averse adjective — Strongly opposed or reluctant to do something.

Similar words

dislike
Can be milder and need not involve avoidance.
reluctance
Emphasizes unwillingness to act rather than a strong negative feeling.